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healthier future

7th PhDay: From Theory to Application: Research in Action

3rd and 4th of October | i3S, Porto

Welcome to the 7th PhDay: From Theory to Application - Research in Action!
 

Abstract Book >>

 

Join us for an inspiring two-day event tailored towards our institute's PhD student community. Taking place at i3S on the 3rd and 4th of October 2024, the 7th PhDay celebrates the symbiotic relationship between theoretical and applied research, recognizing that both are essential pillars of scientific progress.

Learn how our doctoral researchers are pioneering breakthroughs that bridge the gap between theory and real-world solutions. Distinguished speakers from diverse domains will highlight the critical role of theoretical groundwork in shaping advancements in medicine and biotechnology. Interactive sessions with academics and industry professionals will allow you to explore different career paths, while an assortment of workshops will provide a glimpse into techniques and skills that may help you along your journey, with some favourites from last year returning!!

Don't miss your chance to register for this year’s event and to engage in thought-provoking discussions, gain invaluable insights, and discover how your research can drive meaningful change in healthcare and impact society.

Poster >>

Venue

i3S – Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde
Rua Alfredo Allen, 208; 4200-135 Porto, Portugal
Tel: +351 226 074 900 | E-mail: events@i3s.up.pt
GPS coordinates: 41º 10’ 30.008’’ N, 8º 36’ 12.488’’ W.

Organization

Ana Borges
Ana Castro
Ana Pereira
André Carvalho
Bruna Araújo
Carla Santos
Catarina Azevedo
Claudia Cardoso
Clara Bento
Diana Meireles

 

Elias Weiler
Joana Pereira
Mafalda Cautela
Marta Ferreira
Nicole Mineiro
Rita Silva
Silvana Lobo
Sofia Figueiredo
Vitor Yang

 

Program

Day 1 | 3rd October 2024

08h30 - 09h00 Registration
i3S main hall

09h00 - 09h15 Welcome Session
Mariano Gago Auditorium


09h15 - 10h35 | Session I
Mariano Gago Auditorium
Session Chairs: Estrela Neto & Ana Castro

09h15 - 09h55 Magnetic Resonance Imaging: from anatomy to molecules, from diagnosis to therapy
Sébastien Mériaux, NeuroSpin, Paris-Saclay University/CNRS/CEA, CEA Saclay, France

09h55 - 10h15 Human Osteosarcoma Cells Modulate Sensory Neurons Sprouting in vitro
Ana C. Monteiro
, PhD Student

10h15 - 10h35 Regulation of Ascl1 protein function by O- GlcNAcylation
Joana Azevedo
, PhD Student

10h35 - 11h00 Coffee Break
Corino de Andrade foyer

 

11h00 - 12h00 Session I cont.
Mariano Gago Auditorium
Session Chairs: Marina Silva & Bruna Araújo

11h00 - 11h20 New paralogs of ataxin-3 identified in primates: prospects for Machado-Joseph disease
Daniela Felicio
, PhD Student

11h20 - 11h40 Axon-specific regulation of microtubules underlies regeneration asymmetry of sensory neuron axons
Ana C. Costa
, PhD Student

11h40 - 12h00 Poster Pitch Session I

12h00 - 13h00 Lunch

13h00 - 14h30 Poster Session
i3S main hall


14h30 - 15h30 | Session II
Mariano Gago Auditorium
Session Chairs: Eurico Sá & Carla Santos

14h30 - 14h50  Tension at Adherens Junctions instructs Premalignant Breast cells to progress to malignant cancer cells
Lidia Faria
, PhD Student

14h50 - 15h10 Using Natural Karyotypic Evolution to Uncover Critical Mitotic Vulnerabilities to Alterations in Chromosome Number
Ines Dias
, PhD Student

15h10 - 15h30 Gut microbiome manipulation affects the immune response in a microsatellite instability colorectal cancer mouse model
Patricia Vieira
, PhD Student

15h30 - 15h50 Development of thermoresponsive nanoparticles for the effective and controlled delivery of doxorubicin in triple negative breast cancer: Validation in an in vitro 3D model
Tiago Ribeiro
, PhD Student

15h50 - 16h15 Coffee Break
Corino de Andrade foyer

16h15 - 17h45 Workshops

 

Day 2 | 4th October 2024

09h15 - 10h55  Session III
Mariano Gago Auditorium
Session Chairs: Flávia Castro & Ana Borges

09h15 - 09h55 Potent immunotherapies of solid tumors targeting cancer-associated O-glycans
Hans H. Wandall, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

09h55 - 10h15 Gastric cancer patient-derived organoids: Leveraging glycosylation to tackle clinical therapy resistance
Liliana Santos-Ferreira, PhD Student

10h15 - 10h35 Exploring Tumor-Hematopoietic Interactions in Colorectal Cancer Immune Evasion
Ana L. Machado
, PhD Student

10h35 - 10h55 Exploring the Neuro-Immunomodulatory Potential of Bioprinted Human Cartilage Microtissue Carrying an Anti-inflammatory Nanosystem
Marina Couto
, PhD Student

10h55 - 11h20 Coffee Break
Corino de Andrade foyer

11h20 - 13h00  Session III cont.
Mariano Gago Auditorium
Session Chairs: Pedro Curto & Diana Meireles 

11h20 - 11h40 SPATR is required for the infectivity of malaria sporozoites: implications of the TSR and EGF-like adhesive domains
Filipa Neves, PhD Student

11h40 - 12h00 Poster Pitch Session II

12h00 - 13h00 Context dependent antibiotic activity
Ana Brochado, Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology & Infection Medicine Tübingen (IMIT), Tübingen University, Germany

13h00 - 14h00 Lunch

14h00 - 15h30 Poster Session
i3S main hall

15h30 - 16h15 Empowering Researchers: Navigating Uncertainties
Marion Guerth,
Careers Advisor at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg, Germany
Mariano Gago Auditorium

16h15 - 18h00 Rountable - "From Theory to Application: Navigating the Scientific Journey"
Mariano Gago Auditorium

18h00 - 18h30 Closing Session and Awards

18h30 Chill Out
i3S Canteen

 


 

Workshops

More information >>

Workshop 1 | Translational approaches from academia to start-up
Pedro Madureira (Meeting Room B)

Workshop 2 | How to fill the gap between academia and clinics
Delfim Duarte (Meeting Room C)

Workshop 3 | Hands-on Bioinformatics: common online tools for genomics/genetics/proteomics
Marta Ferreira (Meeting Room D)

Workshop 4 | How to implement Large-Language_models (like ChatGPT) into Scientific Writing
Helder Maiato (Meeting Room E)

Workshop 5 | Protein Structure and Interaction predictions using AlphaFold
José Manso (Meeting Room F)

Workshop 6 | How to perform a good screening
António Pombinho (BioScreening Facility N021)

Workshop 7 | Science communication in social media
Andreia Pinho (Sciencewave) (Meeting Room A)

 


 

ROUNDTABLE: "FROM THEORY TO APPLICATION: NAVIGATING THE SCIENTIFIC JOURNEY"

Just finished your PhD? – What’s next?

A PhD opens doors to a wide range of career opportunities. However, figuring out which paths to take and how to enter them as a recent graduate can be challenging. We have assembled a distinguished panel, including career development experts, industry leaders, young academics, and recent graduates, to discuss the best strategies for navigating the job market as a PhD holder.

The session will be moderated by Dr. Ana Seixas, and attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions to the panelists.

Moderator:
Dr. Ana Seixas, Fraunhofer, Portugal

Ana is the Manager of the Research Funding Office at Fraunhofer Portugal, an applied research organization. She develops and implements strategies to secure competitive research and innovation funding. Her key responsibilities include analyzing policy and funding landscapes to identify opportunities aligned with the organization’s strategic goals, fostering collaborations, and overseeing the entire grant application process. Ana earned her PhD from the University of Porto in 2010, with her thesis research on human genetics and neurodegeneration conducted at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA. During her postdoctoral work at i3S, Porto, she shifted focus to molecular and cellular neurobiology, particularly glial cells, and supervised and mentored graduate students. Alongside her research, she held informal institutional roles, promoting career development support and advocating for reforms in research assessment and culture.

 

Participants:
Marion Gürth, Careers Advisor at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg, Germany

Marion is Deputy Manager of the Career Service & Alumni Relations group at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg. She is a Careers Advisor for early career researchers, with a focus on Doctoral Researchers, supporting them in taking an informed decision on their next career step in academia or beyond. Key components in her activities are personal one-to-one career guidance appointments, the organization and coordination of career events on specific professional topics and the facilitation of a career network of more than 4.300 Alumni and current DKFZ scientists. Marion has a background in Molecular Biology. After finishing her studies at the Technical University of Darmstadt and the Ruprecht-Karls-University of Heidelberg in 2005 Marion worked as a Research Assistant in the department "Applied Tumorbiology" at the Pathological Institute of the University Clinic in Heidelberg until 2008 and as a Freelancer for "Informed Sport & Informed Choice" (Lexington KY, USA) from 2011 to 2013. In 2013, she joined the DKFZ Career Service first as a Project Coordinator and since 2016 as a Careers Advisor. Marion is a member of CARE – a group of Careers Advisers supporting Researchers in Europe.

 

Miguel Sousa, Inova+, Portugal

Miguel Sousa, is the CEO of Inova+, which is one of the major Portuguese consultant companies which provides innovation services for several industrial and public administration organisations for the development, management and implementation of Research and Innovation projects, including: The European Commission; Regional Development Agencies, Universities and technological centres and Companies, including New Technology Based Firms. Also, he is the CEO of Index Talent, a Business Angel fund, specialised in yearly stage investments in new technology based firms.

 

 

Dr. Flávia Sousa, Groningen Research Institute of Pharmacy, University of Groningen, Netherlands

Dr. Flávia Sousa is a Tenure-Track Assistant Professor at the Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmacy, Groningen Research Institute of Pharmacy, University of Groningen, Netherlands. She holds a background in pharmacy and earned her Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Porto, Portugal. Following her doctoral studies, Dr. Sousa pursued postdoctoral research at Imperial College London, subsequently securing a prestigious Marie Curie MINDED fellowship at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Italy (2021-2022), and an independent Women-in-Science (WINS) research fellowship from NCCR Bio-inspired Materials at the Adolphe Merkle Institute, Fribourg, Switzerland.

As a drug delivery scientist, Dr. Sousa is at the forefront of developing innovative biological nanotherapies for brain cancer treatment. Her pioneering research focuses on encapsulating anti-angiogenic monoclonal antibodies to enhance their efficacy in treating glioblastoma by normalizing tumor vasculature and the tumor microenvironment. Currently, she is advancing the development of a cancer nanovaccine for glioblastoma using state-of-the-art nanotechnology.

Dr. Sousa's groundbreaking work has led to promising advancements in brain cancer treatment, earning her numerous prestigious international grants, including the Fulbright program, the Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship, MIT Innovators Under 35, and the Female Science Talents initiative. Over the past five years, she has authored more than 40 publications, received 13 scientific awards from various countries, garnered over 1800 citations, and achieved an H-index of 23.

 

Dr. Flávia Martins, Knok Healthcare Portugal LDA., Matosinhos, Portugal

Speakers

Ana Brochado, Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology & Infection Medicine Tübingen (IMIT), Tübingen University, Germany

Ana Rita Brochado was born in Porto (Portugal), and is a biological engineer by training (Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa). She received her PhD in Biotechnology in 2012 from the Technical University of Denmark. During her PhD in the lab of Prof. Dr. Kiran R. Patil, Ana studied the architecture and regulation of metabolic network of Saccharomyces cerevisiae using whole cell metabolic modelling approaches. Afterwards, she moved to the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg (Germany) to do her postdoctoral studies on high-throughput profiling of drug combinations in bacteria in the lab of Dr. Athanasios Typas. Ana started her independent junior group in 2019 at the Chair of Microbiology & Research Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Würzburg (Germany), supported by the Emmy Noether programme of the German Research Foundation. In 2020 Ana was awarded the Hector Research Career Development Award by the Hector Fellow Academy. Ana joined the Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine Tübingen and the Cluster of Excellence "Controlling Microbes to Fight Infections" in 2023 as an assistant professor. The Brochado lab studies how bacteria cope with drugs in their environment with goal is to expose druggable features to aid treatment design. In parallel, our overarching goal is to gain biological insight into how bacteria operate. We combine basic microbiology, high-throughput screening and systems biology approaches to tackle our questions with a comprehensive perspective that extends beyond conventional drug targets.

 

Hans H. Wandall, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Education and positions: Hans H. Wandall is a Professor, Deputy head of Department, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen. He holds an MD, PhD (2004) from the University of Copenhagen and spent time as a research fellow at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital (2004-2007). Hans Wandall also serves as consulting CSO and scientific co-founder GO-Therapeutics and co-founded Ebumab, Cymab, and Hemab, a clinical stage company developing antibody-based therapies for rare diseases.

Scientific scope: The Wandall lab investigates how glycans impinge on cellular differentiation during tissue development and cancer growth, and how to exploit this for early detection and treatment of disease with an emphasis on cancer targeting. We map the structures and the locations of glycans, particularly GalNAc-O-glycans, and combined with new genetic engineering technologies to turn genes on and off, we develop genetically engineered cell and tissue models to establish how glycans influence protein and cellular functions and tissue differentiation. In addition, we develop new cancer-specific carbohydrate targeting monoclonal antibodies for use in novel immunotherapies of solid human tumors.

 

Sébastien Mériaux, NeuroSpin, Paris-Saclay University/CNRS/CEA, CEA Saclay, France

In 2007, Sébastien Mériaux earned his PhD degree with a major in physics from Paris-XI University (Orsay, France), after which he started to work at NeuroSpin (Institut Joliot - Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique, Saclay, France) as one workpackage leader of the ISEULT project. In collaboration with the pharmaceutical company Guerbet, this workpackage was dedicated to the development of new paramagnetic and superparamagnetic contrast agents targeting biomarkers of brain pathologies. In continuation of the ISEULT project, he dedicated his research work to the identification of specific physiological or pathological biomarkers using high-field Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), applying a variety of approaches ranging from molecular imaging to functional MRI, as well as implementing intervention applications and data analysis methodologies.

Since 2020, Sébastien Mériaux is leading the Cerebral Imaging and Engineering Laboratory (CIEL), the preclinical imaging team of NeuroSpin that is developing innovative MRI methodologies to investigate brain mechanisms in healthy and pathological conditions. He is currently involved in several research programs requiring the design of MR-based molecular imaging protocols, in order to characterize the diagnostic and therapeutic properties of iron oxide-based nanoparticles, which are specifically functionalized to target biomarkers of cerebral tumors. The final aim is to propose new theranostic strategies in the neuro-oncology field, particularly for cancers with no effective treatment to date (such as glioblastoma).

 

Abstract Submission

The call for abstracts will be open from 16th of May to 30th of August (notification of acceptance until 10th of September). Participants must complete the registration or the work will not be considered. All oral communication submissions that are not selected for a talk will automatically be considered for a poster communication. Please note that some posters might be considered for poster pitch.

Types of presentations in this event:

  • Short Talk (oral): 15min presentation +5min discussion, with ppt., Auditorium Mariano Gago
  • Poster Presentation: 1x 90min poster session on each day; sessions are split in half to avoid overcrowding, i3S main entrance
  • Poster Pitch: 3min presentation, 1 slide, Auditorium Mariano Gago (Poster Pitches will be selected among all poster abstracts submitted)

Abstracts should be structured according to the template below.

Abstract template >>

Abstract submission form >>

Registration

Limited registrations.
Registration is free but mandatory. i3S members only.
Registration deadline: 30th of August 2024

Registration form >>

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Information

More information:
Events Management Unit | Rua Alfredo Allen 208 | 4200-135 Porto, Portugal
Email: events@i3s.up.pt | Tel: +351 226 074 900